Mashona Washington Breaks Through in Carson

Last week on the challenger circuit, one player moved closer to showing her former top 50 form, while two players on the men’s side won their second challenger titles of the year.
Mashona Washington of the United States broke through in her comeback to professional tennis with a win at the $50,000 challenger in Carson, California, defeating fellow American Alexa Glatch 7-5, 6-4. Washington, who injured her right knee at a Fed Cup tie in the summer of 2006, sidelining her for sixteen months, has endured some demoralizing losses against unranked players in challenger qualifying since coming back. The younger sister of former U.S. Davis Cup standout and 1996 Wimbledon runner-up Malivai Washington is now finally beginning to show the form that took her inside the world’s top 50 and led to wins against players like Maria Sharapova back in 2004.
At the $25,000 event in Togliatti, Russia, Nina Bratchikova of Russia won her second consecutive challenger title with a 6-3, 6-0 rout of Patricia Mayr of Austria. Bratchikova also won the $25,000 event in Moscow, Russia last week. This has also been some of the best few weeks of Mayr’s career, having reached her first ever challenger final just a couple of weeks ago in Italy.
In other results on the women’s side, Tomoko Yonemura of Japan won the $25,000 event in Gunma, Japan, while Anastasjia Sevastova of Latvia won the $25,000 challenger in Galantina, Italy.
On the men’s side, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg won his second challenger title of the year at the $75,000 event in Izmir, Uzbekistan, with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kristian Pless of Denmark. Muller used his big serve and forehand to overwhelm the diminutive Pless throughout the match and move just outside the world’s top 100 this week.
At the $50,000 challenger in Carson, California, Amer Delic of the United States also won his second challenger title of the year, fighting back from being down in each set to defeat fellow American Alex Bogomolov by a 7-6, 6-4 score. Delic’s other challenger title came on American soil as well, having won early in the year at a tournament in Dallas, Texas. Bogomolov was unable to defend his title, having won in the finals last year against Kei Nishikori of Japan
In other results on the men’s side, Paolo Lorenzi of Italy won the $35,000 event in Alessandria, Italy, while Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia won the $35,000 challenger in Karlsruhe, Germany.
The challenger circuit will be graced by the almost unheard of presence of a top 15 player this week, as Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is the top seed at the $150,000 challenger in Prostejov, Czech Republic. Victor Hanescu of Romania is the top seed at the $50,000 challenger in Furth, Germany, and Fabio Fognini of Italy is top seed at the $35,000 challenger in Sassoulo, Italy. Main draws for the challengers in Surbiton, Great Britain, and Yuba City, California were still being made at press time.
On the women’s side, Tatiana Garbin of Italy is the top seed at the $75,000 event in Rome, Italy. Akiko Nakamura of Japan leads the way at the $50,000 challenger in Surbiton, Great Britain, while Mariana Duque Marino of Colombia takes top billing at the $25,000 event in Galantina, Italy.